A former Orleans Parish sheriff's deputy who pleaded guilty to malfeasance in office after an inmate under his watch committed suicide was sentenced Friday to five years on active probation. "My greatest hope is that this horrible tragedy can ensure that something like this will never, ever, ever be allowed to occur again," the victim's sister, Margaret Nagle, told the court before sentencing. "But that is only possible if there are grave consequences for former Deputy Thompson's actions." After hearing emotional statements from the victim's family members and a brief apology from the defendant, Criminal District Court Judge Camille Buras handed down a five-year suspended prison sentence to William Thompson.

Orleans Parish sheriffWilliam Thompson

In announcing the sentence, Buras noted she had weighed the family's statements as well as the fact that Thompson had no arrest record -- though, as a lawyer for the victim's family noted, that is a requirement to be hired to his law enforcement position.

Thompson, 34, was watching William Goetzee, 48, a federal inmate who had declared his suicidal intentions during his arrest in front of federal court in early August 2011. Goetzee, a Coast Guard employee, was arrested after he tried to grab a gun from a federal security officer.

Five days after his arrest, Goetzee was found dead in his cell on the mental health floor at the House of Detention. A coroner's investigation concluded he cut off his air supply by swallowing toilet paper.

The suicide came after a scathing report published by the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division in September 2009 that particularly singled out the jail's suicide-prevention procedures as inadequate. In a follow-up report, the federal agency found the jail's suicide procedures "inhumane," saying suicidal prisoners were routinely held in a filthy "suicide tank" with no toilet, bed or blankets. They are required to wear a "turtle suit," described as a "tear-resistant" one-piece garment.

The report flagged Goetzee's death, noting that no other guards or supervisors ever checked on the inmate during the hours Thompson left him unsupervised.

In March, the U.S. Marshals Service removed all of the agency's federal inmates from the jail, citing unacceptable conditions.

The Department of Justice has been attempting to negotiate a federal consent decree with Sheriff Marlin Gusman that would include binding mandates to improve conditions and would be overseen by a federal judge.

Gusman has acknowledged that a consent decree may be in the works. Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration would have to become involved in any such decree because the city pays for the housing of pretrial inmates.

Landrieu spokesman Ryan Berni said Friday the city did not have a cost estimate yet because it "just recently became involved in substantive negotiations regarding a consent decree for the Orleans Parish Prison complex."

A civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of Goetzee's family raises larger questions about whether suicidal inmates should be jailed at Orleans Parish Prison.

In a taped interview, Thompson admitted he had left his post in front of Goetzee's cell at least three times on Aug. 7, 2011, the day Goetzee killed himself. At one point, Thompson complained he was "too hot" on the 10th floor and left for two to three hours to spend time in the air-conditioned nurse's office, possibly taking a nap, court records show.

Thompson also admitted to having falsified a checklist indicating he had observed Goetzee alive from 10:22 a.m. until 6:15 p.m. A fellow inmate found Goetzee unconscious around 5:45 p.m., records show.

"Mr. Thompson's actions were deliberate and so blatant that we have to ask whether he has done this before with other suicidal prisoners," Goetzee's fiancée, Donna Gauthier, told the court before sentencing. "We also have to ask where were his supervisors who failed to check on him?"

Marc Ehrhardt, a spokesman for Gusman, said Thompson -- who was fired before his arrest -- was the only employee disciplined after the Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigation was complete.

"Thompson is just a small part of a larger system that's broken," said Mary Howell, a civil rights attorney representing the victim's family.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman said in a statement that he "maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding deputies engaging in illegal conduct or other activities unbecoming of an officer."

Staff writer Laura Maggi contributed to this report. Naomi Martin can be reached at nmartin@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3452.